


Angels Would Fall

by kiss_me_cassie



Category: Marvel (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Denial of Feelings, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Multi, Pre-Threesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 20:46:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14028408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiss_me_cassie/pseuds/kiss_me_cassie
Summary: Kate starts to realize she's interested in Clint as more than just a friend. Problem is, she's attracted to Natasha, too. What's a girl to do?





	Angels Would Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Meatball42 for pointing out several inconsistencies and helping me improve this. Any remaining issues are all mine.
> 
> Title from a Melissa Etheridge song.

Kate had just rounded the corner at the top of the stairs when the door to Clint's apartment swung open, and she was greeted by the sight of Natasha kissing Clint goodbye. And not just any kind of kiss, but a deep, full-on, spit-swapping kind of kiss that lasted way longer than was absolutely necessary in a public hallway, at least by Kate's calculations.

When they finally broke apart, Natasha shot a smirk her way.

"Hi, Kate. Bye, Kate," she said, stepping away from Clint and sauntering past Kate to head down the stairs.

Kate stared after her for a moment before turning back to Clint. His lips were just the slightest bit pink and a little bit wet and suddenly Kate had the bizarre desire to kiss him herself. Which was crazy because kissing Clint would be like, well, not like kissing a brother exactly but… 

She stopped. 

What _would_ kissing Clint be like? Would it be soft and gentle, nothing more than a brush of her lips against his? Or would it be deep and intimate, making her toes curl with want? Would she want more than just one kiss? 

She shook her head, clearing it of such crazy thoughts. 

They were friends, not potential lovers. Kissing each other was the last thing either of them was interested in. She pulled her gaze away from his mouth and made a face at him instead.

"That was gross," she complained, pushing down any inappropriate thoughts. "It's bad enough knowing you're sleeping together. I don't need to witness you making out on top of that."

"Then don't show up at my apartment unannounced," Clint told her with a quick cuff on the arm as she pushed her way past him and into his apartment.

"I didn't. We had a breakfast date," Kate reminded him. 

Clint scrubbed a hand through his hair.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Kate said, wandering into Clint's kitchen and pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Not forgot exactly," he said, eyeing the pot with longing. She handed it over and he took a swig straight from the carafe.

"You got distracted by Natasha. What do you see in her anyhow?" Kate asked, looking at him quizzically.

"Aww, Katie-kate, after you, she's my best friend."

"Yeah, but…" She stopped mid-sentence. It was a stupid question anyhow. Anyone with eyes could tell what he saw in her. Kate considered herself mostly straight but even she wasn't completely immune to all of Natasha's charms. "Never mind. Let's talk pancakes."

The rest of the morning passed the way it usually did whenever the two of them got together. The only difference was that this time she found her gaze continually straying to Clint's mouth as she wondered exactly what kissing him would be like.

\---

"We should try out the boomerang arrows," Clint said as he slung his quiver over his shoulder. 

Kate scrunched up her nose and hefted her own quiver. "You go ahead, but I'm totally trying out that new exploding arrow that Stark made."

"Aw, Kate, I was saving that for a special occasion," Clint whined.

"Too bad. I'm trying it today," she said, picking up her practice bow as well.

They were both nearly out the door of Clint's apartment, when Kate stopped. "Oh wait, I forgot my sweatshirt."

She ducked back in, grabbed her hoodie, and was about to dash back out when she noticed an arrow sticking halfway under the couch.

Picking it up, she noticed that this one had a funny rounded tip on the end. Huh. A ping-pong arrow? That was something new. She snatched it up and carried it with her as she dashed back out into the hallway to catch up with Clint. 

"Hey, Clint," she said, playfully aiming the new arrow at him as he lounged against the top of the banister, waiting for her. She stopped short when suddenly he was no longer standing there, but falling ass over teakettle down the stairs, the thumping of his body accompanied by a long and colorful litany of curses. "Oh shit! Shit, shit, shit." 

She dashed down the hall to find that the railing Clint had been meaning to fix forever had finally given way. His crumpled body was at the bottom of the stairs.

By the time she'd scrambled down the flight of stairs, he had opened his eyes and was mumbling something about maybe trying out the exploding arrow after all.

"Are you crazy?" Kate practically screeched. "You just fell down a flight of stairs and you still want to try out fancy arrows?"

He blinked up at her dazedly. "Yeah?"

Shaking her head, she helped him to his feet and then dragged him back up to his apartment, where she promptly dumped him on the couch.

"Are you sure nothing's broken?" she asked. Nothing looked broken, just massively bruised and a bit banged up, but Kate wasn't used to being the one playing nursemaid. 

"Reasonably sure," he muttered, trying to stand. He swayed a little and Kate gently pushed him back down. 

"Stay," she ordered, scowling when he tried to rise again. "I'm gonna call Natasha. Maybe she can talk some sense into you."

By the time she arrived thirty minutes later, Clint had given up being so stoic, but Kate was still glad to see her.

"Honestly, yastreb, how do you do this on a near constant basis?" Natasha asked, as she sat down next to him and ran her hands gently over his limbs and torso, checking for God knows what.

"Dunno," Clint mumbled, as he leaned his head against her shoulder. "Talent?"

Natasha shook her head and placed a tender kiss on his forehead. 

"Or something," she teased, a small smile in her voice as she ran her hand through his hair to check his head.

Kate watched their interaction in fascination, suddenly more than a little curious to know how Natasha's hands would feel on her own skin. Would her touch be light and gentle, like it was on Clint? Or would it be firm and sure, her fingers leaving little fissures of heat wherever they touched Kate?

She shook her head. 

Watching them shouldn't have made her feel anything besides relief that Clint was ok, or maybe even annoyance that Natasha was the one who knew just how to handle him. It most definitely shouldn't have made her feel aroused, but that was exactly how she was starting to feel.

She had to stop this craziness. It was bad enough when she'd started thinking about kissing Clint. But now she was thinking about Natasha's hands on her body? Maybe she needed to figure out how to aim that ping pong arrow at her own head to knock some sense back into it.

But not matter how hard she tried, from that point on, Kate couldn't stop looking at Natasha's hands without remembering the way they had moved over Clint's body so tenderly. And without wanting to feel them touching her own body.

\---

Kate sat on Clint's bed and idly twirled one of his practice arrows between her fingers while she waited for him to finish showering. After a few minutes, though, she grew restless with waiting, so she set the arrow down and started roaming the small, messy room. 

She wondered if Natasha ever left stuff here. A set of earrings or a bottle of perfume? Maybe some clothes? Or maybe she just borrowed Clint's clothes, like one of his ragged but well worn t-shirts, the ones that smelled like him. Of course on Natasha one of his shirts would just about reach past her…

Kate stopped and looked back toward the bathroom door, as if expecting Clint to suddenly be there, reading her thoughts. Resolving not to think about Natasha in various states of dress or undress anymore, she resumed her inspection of Clint's room.

"Hey Clint," she called, trailing her fingers across the dusty dresser top. "Does Natasha leave stuff here? If I dared to look under your hellhole of a bed, would I find a pair of her discarded panties? Not that I'd want to find any exactly, but --"

"You know I can't hear you when I'm in there, right?" Clint said from the open doorway as he fixed his hearing aids back into place with one hand.

Kate startled. She hadn't even noticed the shower turning off, nevermind that he'd come back into the bedroom.

"Between taking the aids out and the running water..."

Kate missed exactly what else he said. She was too busy staring at his naked chest and the smattering of hair that tapered down his tight stomach to beneath the low slung towel.

She licked her lips, imagining what his penis must look like beneath that towel. Was it pink or more of a mottled purple? Flaccid or just the slightest bit hard? And if she pulled the towel off would Clint be shocked? Or would he welcome the attention, his penis growing harder as her fingers trailed along its length?

She clenched her fists at her sides to keep from reaching for the edge of the towel and finding out.

Clint shifted under her scrutiny and the towel dropped a little further down his hips. 

"So what is it you wanted to know?" he asked.

She flushed. "Uh, nothing. Just wondering if Natasha ever kept stuff here."

She was losing it. Really, really losing it, if she was suddenly thinking these kinds of things about Clint's dick. It had been bad enough when she'd been imagining his kiss and Natasha half-dressed, but now she was thinking about his penis too?

Gulping, she hitched a thumb towards the living room, her voice just the slightest bit hoarse when she spoke again. "It was nothing important, just idle curiosity. Why don't I wait out in the living room -- but not here, definitely not here in the bedroom -- while you get dressed?"

He shot her a funny look but didn't try to stop her when she fled.

\---

Clint hadn't shown up for their regular weekly training date and Kate was pissed. 

After texting him about a dozen times, each new text snarkier than the last, she let herself into his apartment and marched straight through his living room towards his bedroom.

"Clinton Francis Barton, you've got three seconds to get out here or else I'm coming in there and I don't care if you're dressed or --"

"He's not here," Natasha said, emerging from the bedroom. "The neighbor downstairs called about a clogged sink and he thought he'd try and fix it himself before calling the plumber."

Her expression was full of fond amusement and Kate's righteous indignation instantly dissolved. 

Clint was stupid like that sometimes, trying to do stuff he was wholly unqualified to do. He was also stupid enough to forget to let her know when stuff like this happened so she wouldn't think he'd stood her up.

"Did he take his phone or did he forget it again? Because I've been texting him for like an hour now," Kate grumbled.

Natasha shrugged, and that's when Kate made the mistake of looking at her, _really_ looking at her. 

The curvy redhead was clad in a pair of Clint's goofy novelty boxers and a sheer white top that did little to hide the perfect globes of her breasts or the dusky nipples. Dusky, _hard_ nipples. 

So she didn't borrow Clint's t-shirts, Kate thought abstractedly. She wore her own stuff. Her own, barely-there, practically see-through stuff. 

Kate couldn't tear her eyes away.

She swallowed and shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot. "Um, can you tell him that I was here? And that if he's done soon I'll meet him in the park?"

Natasha nodded, then sauntered out of Clint's room and towards the kitchen. As she slid by Kate in the narrow hallway, the side of her arm brushed against Kate's boob, making Kate even more intensely aware of the sexual arousal she was feeling.

"You're welcome to wait," Natasha said, smirking as if she knew exactly how that small touch had affected Kate. "I could make us coffee."

Kate shook her head and all but ran for the door. "No, I, um… No. If he's done soon, just tell him I'll be at the park."

She never made it there. 

Instead, she took a detour back to her place and masturbated in the shower while thinking about Natasha's beautiful breasts, then fell into a fitful sleep on top of her rumpled bed. 

\---

Kate reached into Clint's cabinet and grabbed a box of cereal from the shelf before boosting herself up to sit on his counter. 

"So this thing with Natasha," she started as she flipped the box open. "Tell me more."

Clint shrugged. "There's not much to tell."

"But you're friends with her _and_ you're sleeping with her," Kate pushed, munching on a handful of sugary puffs. "How's that work?"

Clint scrubbed a hand through his hair. "What do you mean how does it work? It's just works."

"Yes, but how?"

He stopped futzing with the coffee maker and pinned her with a hard look. "Why all the interest in me and Natasha lately, Katie-Kate?"

She shifted uneasily under his intense scrutiny and tried to shrug nonchalantly. "I dunno. I'm just interested. It's an interesting situation. Two friends, who work together but also sleep together. It's interesting."

Barking out a laugh, he pulled the pot out from under the automatic drip and sloshed a decent amount of coffee into a mug he grabbed from the sink. Kate wrinkled her nose.

"Was that even clean?" she asked.

"Dunno," he said, shrugging. "But it only had coffee in it from yesterday, so who cares?"

"You need a keeper."

"I have a keeper," he replied, leaning back against the table. "You."

She tilted her head a little and stubbornly added, "And Natasha."

He set his mug down and pushed away from the table, coming over to brace a hand on either side of her legs. She squirmed a little at his nearness, stealing herself not to react to the warmth radiating from his body or the subtle soapy smell coming from him. 

He was _right there_. If she leaned forward, she could probably kiss him. If she did, would it stop with a kiss or would he nudge her thighs apart and step between them, pressing his hard parts up against her soft ones? Would he slide a hand down her leggings? Would he finger the wet heat of her sex, press his rough and calloused thumb against her clit and make her come?

Fuck. She had to stop having these thoughts.

Clint was looking at her strangely. "Kate? Are you _interested_ in Natasha?"

Kate flushed darkly. "No, of course not! She's gorgeous and badass, but it's not like I spend my days wondering what it would be like to fuck her. Or about what it would be like to fuck… Oh hell."

She stopped mid-sentence and shoved another handful of cereal into her mouth to stop any more words from coming out.

Clint frowned, a small furrow forming across his forehead. "Kate…"

"I was _kidding_ ," Kate said, plastering on a cheeky grin. "Geez, can't you even take a joke, Barton?"

He let it go, but she was going to have to watch herself from now on. This obsession with Clint and Natasha was getting way out of hand.

\---

The fundraiser at Stark's was the most boring thing ever. Kate glanced around the room, wondering how early she could politely ditch out without being rude. Then she noticed Clint outside on the balcony, looking out over the city as he leaned against the balustrade, and the night suddenly started to look a whole lot brighter.

"I hate these things," she said as she joined him outside.

"You hate them?" Clint grumbled, pulling at his collar. "How do you think I feel? Nat even made me wear a suit and tie."

"Yes, but they make you look really good," Kate said, giving him the once over and admiring the lines of his custom made, dark grey suit. He wore it with a slightly lighter grey tie and the subdued shades against his bright white shirt did some amazing things to his eyes.

She kind of got lost staring into them and almost missed him complimenting her on her own fancy get up.

"You like?" she asked nervously.

He stared at her silently for a long while, his eyes taking in every inch of her and her navy gown, until she started to fidget under his scrutiny.

"Yeah," he finally said, his voice deep and gravelly. "You look good."

Something about his tone made the hair at the back of her neck stand on end and she was suddenly intensely aware of how totally alone they were out here and of how close he was standing. If she stood up on tiptoe, she'd be at just the right height to kiss him.

But no, she couldn't kiss him. They were friends. Friends didn't go around randomly kissing one another. Unless they were Clint and Natasha, but Kate's own relationship with him was totally different than that. Wasn't it? So, no, she wasn't going to kiss him, no matter how amazing he looked or how good he smelled or how warm his arm felt pressed close to hers or...

Oh, screw it, she was totally going to kiss him.

It was awkward at first, but she'd been prepared for that. You couldn't just kiss the guy who'd been your best buddy for years without the first kiss being just a little awkward. But it was nice, too.

His lips were warm and soft, and he tasted a little bit like the whiskey he'd been drinking but not in a bad way. When Kate moved in closer, crowding him against the balcony railing so she could deepen the kiss, his arms circled her body and his hands skimmed across her bare back, bringing a whole new level of niceness to the kiss.

Long moments later, a little bit breathless and a whole lot aroused, Kate finally drew away.

"That was… Wow," Clint said, looking down at her, his expression a mixture of dazed and longing. "Fuck, Katie, why haven't we done that before? 

"I… don't know," she said just a little bit shyly. But as the haze of lust faded she had to admit that she did know and had known for a while now. It was time to man up and tell him. Screwing up her courage, she blurted it out as quickly as she could. "Probably because I wasn't sure how you'd feel about me kissing you and I didn't want to screw up our friendship?"

"Oh."

"Oh?" she said, eyes going wide. "That's it? I've been worried about this for what feels like forever and your only reaction is oh?"

"It was nice?" he ventured, shifting from one foot to the other. "And I really enjoyed it and, uh, kind of want to do it again?" 

She frowned and had to refrain from punching him in the arm. "I agonized for weeks over this and Natasha and -- Shit!" 

She stopped abruptly and clapped a hand over her mouth. How could she have forgotten about Natasha?

"What about Natasha?" he asked, looking genuinely confused. "If this is about the stuff from the other day--"

"No! You're… I… _No_ ," she lied, her eyes quickly darting away from his probing look. "You're sleeping with Natasha. That's all. And I've been worried about getting between the two of you."

There was no way was she going to add to this mess by admitting she had feelings for Natasha, too. Absolutely no way. Their kiss, as nice as it had been, was already messing enough with her head. 

Clint's face scrunched up in a way that would have been comical if she hadn't been feeling so miserable. "Oh. Well. You know Nat and I aren't exclusive or anything, right?"

"I know," she said, lips trembling. "And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. And it's not fair that I'm about to run out on you like this but… I have to go."

He reached out a hand to stop her, but she twisted away. 

"Katie." 

He sounded so sad and she hated that she she was the cause of it, but she couldn't stay, couldn't talk it out with him. Not right now, anyways. She had to figure out all the stuff in her head first.

"I have to go," she repeated. "I have to go, like, _now_."

Whirling around, she pushed past a handful of guests who were on their way out to the balcony and fled back into the Tower.

She almost failed to notice Natasha standing just inside the door, a knowing look on her face. Almost, but not entirely. Because it was hard to miss her with her flaming hair and smoking hot dress and pouty lips painted such a vibrant shade of red.

Kate let out a wail of frustration and swept right past her.

\--- 

Kate was feeling a little bit better about the whole Clint and Natasha thing after indulging in a day of retail therapy. That was, until she swung out of a funky little downtown boutique and came face to face with Natasha.

She was lounging against a street sign, looking cool and casual in a pair of skintight jeans and what looked to be one of Clint's many hoodies. Not that Kate knew all his clothes or noticed them. This one just _happened_ to look a lot like the one he'd worn the other day, over that super soft purple t-shirt that she had itched to peel off of him so she could run her hands along his pecs.

Fuck. All that time and money she'd just spent and it was all going right out the window as the feelings she'd been trying to repress came rushing back.

"Walk with me," Natasha said, pushing away from the sign and linking her arm through Kate's. 

"Did something happen with Clint?" Kate asked, although she knew damned well nothing had. If there'd been something wrong with him, Natasha wouldn't have waited until today to find her.

"No," Natasha answered with a little smirk. "At least, not yet."

"What do you mean, _not yet_?" Kate asked, licking her lips. She would not look at Natasha's mouth, she wouldn't. Except she absolutely was staring at it and she knew that Natasha had noticed her staring at it. 

Crap.

Natasha stopped mid-step and pulled Kate into a small alcove by a store which was currently closed. Pausing briefly, she studied Kate's face before pushing her back against the glass and kissing her for all she was worth.

Kate froze for a second and did nothing more than let Natasha kiss her, but when Natasha's tongue came out and touched her lips, she eagerly opened her mouth and kissed her back.

When Natasha finally pulled back a while later, Kate's head was spinning. 

"Oh! That was… Oh."

"Oh indeed," Natasha agreed, smiling.

She was still close enough that Kate could move a mere inch closer and be kissing her again. The questions was, should she? She was still contemplating it, when she realized Natasha had spoken again.

"I know that you want me," Natasha said.

"So?" Kate whispered, unable to take her eyes off Natasha's mouth.

God, but she wanted to kiss her again. More than kiss her, really, but a crowded street in Manhattan was definitely not the right place for ripping Natasha's clothes off and going down on her.

Natasha smirked, as if she could read Kate's mind, and ran a finger down Kate's cheek. "So, I want you as well. And Clint can be a little dumb about admitting these types of things, but he wants you, too. So If you want him _and_ me -- either separately or together -- then you're going to have to do something about it."

Kate tried to form words but they stuck in her throat. Of course she wanted them. All she'd been doing lately was imagining the two of them naked, individually and with Kate pressed between them. Then she'd fucked up any chance of that happening in the aftermath of that kiss on the balcony.

Kate had to resist the urge to look down at her feet and scuff her sneakers along the sidewalk. She scrunched up her nose instead. 

"Is he, um... Is he mad at me?"

"For the kiss?" Natasha shook her head. "More hurt and confused than anything else."

"Can I fix it?"

Natasha smirked. "Maybe."

"How?"

"Not my problem," Natasha said, her smirk getting bigger. "But you're a bright girl. You'll figure it out."

Her finger slid along Kate's lower lip and then she kissed her again, lightly.

"Don't leave it for too long," she called as she turned and sauntered away, hips swaying seductively. 

Kate couldn't do more than sputter in frustration and stare after her.

\---

She didn't bother knocking, just barged into Clint's apartment like she belonged there, which in a way, she kind of did. 

"We need to talk," Kate announced without preamble.

Clint paused with a slice of pizza halfway to his mouth. "Now?"

"Listen," Kate said, hands on her hips as she looked from Clint to Natasha and back again. "I've spent the better part of a week trying to forget our kiss, forget Natasha's kiss, and overall get over wanting both of you. And none of that is happening, so yes, now."

Natasha's snort of laughter accompanied the wet plopping noise of Clint's pizza falling back into the box. 

Clint stared at Kate with wide eyes. "You kissed Natasha?"

"Technically, she kissed me," Kate told him, rolling her eyes. "But yeah."

"You didn't tell me you kissed her," he accused Natasha. His eyes swung back to Kate. "And you said you weren't interested in her when I asked!" 

"I also pushed you away after we kissed when all I wanted to do was get you against the nearest flat surface and have my way with you. Your point?"

Clint frowned. "Um... none?" 

Natasha grinned at her. "So you finally figured it out?"

Kate grinned back and resisted the urge to go over and kiss her full on the mouth. Kate had some things that still needed saying before the three of them got to that part. "Yeah, I did."

"Figured _what_ out?" Clint asked, clearly exasperated by the whole situation.

"Us," Kate said, taking a deep breath. "I want you. And I want Natasha. And you've both made it pretty clear that you want me. So I think it'd be swell if we all got together in a hot, sweaty, sticky mess."

He visibly gulped. "Do you mean…?"

Her head bobbed up and down, ponytail swinging wildly. "Yes.

"Both?"

She nodded again. "Yes."

Clint slowly turned towards Natasha. "You're on board with this?"

Natasha shrugged, feigning indifference, but the smile on her lips belied her interest. "I am if you are."

Clint looked back at Kate, concern clearly showing in his expression.. "Katie, are you really sure?"

Kate practically bounced in place. If he didn't say yes pretty soon, she was going to explode. "Yes. I am absolutely, one hundred percent, entirely sure."

Clint threw up his hands in defeat. "I can't even resist one of you. How am I supposed to resist both of you together?"

"You aren't," Kate said, grinning as she tugged him up off the couch.

Natasha linked an arm through his and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, yastreb, this will be fun."

"For the two of you maybe," he grumbled goodnaturedly as Kate started to lead him towards his bedroom. "I'm not so sure about for me."

"Don't worry, it definitely will be," Kate said as they got to his room. She bounced onto his bed and kicked off her shoes, but paused before stripping off her t-shirt. "Ok, one last thing."

Clint halted, fingers stilling on the button of his jeans. 

"Just one?" he asked, smiling.

"For now," she said, beaming back at him. "I just want to make sure we're all absolutely clear on what's about to happen." She paused and Natasha smiled encouragngly at her. "We're about to get naked. All of us. Right now. And have crazy, hot monkey sex. And then maybe do it all again later. Anyone have any objections?"

They didn't.


End file.
